Leger brought up the delicate subject of racism; we must speak out against this, said Simmons, a blight that has dogged Obama since 2008, with the source traceable to the GOP.
The issue is not postracial, said Williams. Witness Obama's heterogeneous ancestry and Michelle's descent from slaves. What is postracial is the question "What is race?" Obama's background is so heterogeneous, while Michelle is descended from slaves. What does race mean today?
Leger shifted the subject, which had already shifted to black immigrants, who will undoubtedly support Obama, at least from anecdotal evidence. The next issue was "whistling beyond Dixie." Because of racial mobility, some traditionally red states may go purple.
Williams mentioned the new demographic in Virginia, whose largest county, Fairfax, is filled with newcomers from other, more liberal backgrounds. Capehart added that the black population is growing in North Carolina also, so that the surprise move of both of these states from the red to the blue column in 2008 may become more credible as time goes on--the president lost Georgia by only 5 percent, a place where not much campaigning was done.
More on campaign promises: a big problem for Obama was that once he got to the oval office, his inbox contained issues he was unaware of, said Williams, making the picture far more complex than his anticipations. For her the president may fulfill 70 percent of his promises. There is far too much focus on "marquis issues"; few are aware of how much he has assisted African American colleges, she said.
"We can cut Obama a little slack but not a lot," said Capehart. The pressure must stay on him.
During the question period, one member of the audience wanted to know, if Obama can't touch race, what can he do?
Capehart said that his aspirational narrative must continue; he can, for instance, speak about the billions of dollars he has spent on education.
A recent graduate of the University of Alabama complained about voter i.d. laws that so stifle the vote of college students. How can they get beyond it?
"We must push," said Capehart. We can't always get what we want. That's what growing up teaches us.
Simmons added that people have fought and died for our right to vote; usually the younger portion of the population does not show up at the polls in large numbers. As they edge toward thirty and have families and buy homes, they become more involved in their communities and even politics. Statistics from Election 2010 corroborate this.
And so, on the theme of youth and the future, the discussion ended--on a note of some of what can be done to improve this dire recession and all of the hardship it is breeding. We must push, and youth must enter the fray before it falls into their laps in even more monstrous incarnations.
Democracy is difficult and requires lots of work, to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson. The time for passivity and indifference, if there ever was one, is gone. We're all in this together--all colors of the rainbow. Together we must dig ourselves out. All this and much more spun within my mind as I walked back to the Metro.
As easy as being American seems to be, it's getting rough. Obama will go down in history not only because of his race(s) but as the first chief executive to preside over a reduced credit rating. There's still time to add more to these associations, like the aspirational narrative that we must all work to bring to life.
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